Loretto archivists: Caretakers? Detectives? Techies? All of the above!

The Loretto Heritage Center includes both an Archive and a Museum where the 200-plus-year history of the Sisters of Loretto and the 40-plus-year history of the Loretto Community are documented in paper, artifacts and richly interpretive exhibits.

Loretto’s archival materials reflect the congregation’s worldwide mission. Over the years, numerous languages have been used in conducting Loretto’s work. Many of the languages are easily recognizable. But what happens when they’re not? What happens if a document that needs to be filed in its proper place in Archives isn’t in any language staff can speak or read? Our intrepid archivists face this challenge regularly in their work at the Loretto Heritage Center. This week on Loretto’s Facebook page we will feature examples of Loretto archival materials highlighted in a slideshow put together by staff member Loretto Archivist Reba Weatherford. Reba will explain in her own words to what collections these historic documents and other materials written in a multitude of languages belong.

Reba offered some advice in a recent LOREtto blog post (Polyglot Perspectives: Archiving Loretto’s Multilingual Collections – Loretto)  to those who may be facing similar research challenges. For example, if a document is in a language that can easily be typed using QWERTY keyboard (think English, Spanish, French, etc.), she suggested trying out Google’s translation feature or a similar translation application. If it’s a document in a language that can’t be typed, take a photograph of the doc and upload it.

While Reba finds Google’s tool quick and easy to use, she noted it does not translate with respect to regional variations in language usage. This can cause issues in trying to sort out the meaning of a document. Also, Google’s translations tend toward translating based on the current usage of words. And, Reba pointed out, as it can be difficult to select key words in a language you don’t know, inputting wrong information into Google can result in a bad output. Still, she definitely recommended giving it a try!